Upon hearing that I was looking for relatively inexpensive electronics to feature in our blog, Parasound's Richard Schram and publicist extraordinaire Gordon Sell immediately pointed to a static display of Parasound's Halo P 7 multichannel analog preamp. Designed by Finland's Juha Kuusama, the Halo P 7's origins lie in Juha's design for Parasound's first surround processor, which was released late in the last century.

"The P 7 is a pure analog stereo preamp that can be used as a 7.1 channel surround sound preamp when connected to the multichannel analog out put jacks on a DVD player or Blu-ray player that decodes Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Its 10 inputs include two sets of 7.1 channel input jacks with a bypass switch that enables you to insert the P 7 between a surround receiver and a power amp. Analog bass management also enables a subwoofer to function properly with two channel analog sources. The preamp even has an MM/MC phono input.

"This is a great analog preamp for someone who can't afford the John Curl-designed Halo JC 2," says Schram. "As a stereo preamp, it can be mated with multi-channel products so that you can mix digital processing with pure analog sound. It's a pure analog product that enables you to enjoy the most advanced digital. And its easy menu set-up makes user interface most enjoyable."